Classic Throwback: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1947)

Having earlier in the year watched The Red Shoes, the 1948 masterpiece from The Archers - the filmmaking duo of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger - and Peeping Tom, which is the controversial film that ended Powell’s career in Britain, I sure was intrigued when Anna at Defiant Success and James at Cinema Sights recommended Black Narcissus to me, claiming it to be the best of the three. I decided to watch it immediately. I was absolutely blown away. Who would have thought that a film released in 1947 and focused on nuns would be so erotic? I have seen this film listed pretty high on ‘All Time’ lists and it now comes as no surprise.

Black Narcissus is based on the novel of the same name by Rumer Godden, and tells the story of a group of Angelican nuns who travel to a remote Himalayan location (The Palace of Mopu) to set up a convent – a school and hospital for the local community. Despite the fears of the Reverend Mother that she is too young to be assigned such responsibility, Sister Clodagh (Deborah Kerr, outstanding) is enlisted as the Sister Superior, and is joined by four other sisters who each possess unique abilities and personalities. Sister Phillipa (Flora Johnson) is a gifted gardener, Sister Briony (Judith Furse) is a nurse, Sister Honey (Jenny Laird) is cheerful and popular teacher, while Sister Ruth (Kathleen Byron), ill and mentally unstable, is sent along in the hope she will be healed by the change.

Releases (13/10)

Before I begin the rundown of new releases, the nominees for the 2011 Jameson IF Awards have just been announced. Up for Best Picture are Face to Face, Red Dog, Oranges and Sunshine and Eye of the Storm. No Snowtown. That is outrageous. All I can say is: Go Red Dog. For a full list of nominees, click here. 

I believe there are five new Australian releases tomorrow - The Thing, What's Your Number?, Take Shelter, Red State and The Cup. I have only seen one, and I have this compulsion to see The Thing, The Cup and Red State. The question is...when? I have a busy week ahead.

The Thing - There is very little chance of me liking this very much, because John Carpenter's The Thing (1982) is one of my favourite films. The first trailer I watched looked very much like Carpenter's, but the film is actually a prelude to the Carpenter classic. Palaeontologist Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has traveled to the desolate region for the expedition of her lifetime. Joining a Norwegian scientific team that has stumbled across an extraterrestrial ship buried in the ice, she discovers an organism that seems to have dies in the crash eons ago. When a simple experiment frees the alien from it's frozen prison, Kate must join the crew's pilot, Carter (Joel Edgerton), to keep it from killing them off one at a time. In this vast, intense land, a parasite that can mimic anything it touches will pit human against human as it tries to survive and flourish.

Classic Throwback: Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (Sam Peckinpah, 1974)

Sam Peckinpah’s 1974 grunge-fest, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, was a film that initially divided critics, with some (Roger Ebert) giving it a perfect score, while others (Michael Medved) claiming it to be one of the ‘worst films ever made’. I understand both cases, but I am sitting somewhere in the middle.

The film opens in Mexico, with the characters speaking in Spanish, unaccompanied by subtitles. I thought that was odd, but I soon realized that none were needed. The plot was obvious – Teresa, the pregnant teenage daughter of a powerful man known as ‘El Jefe’ (Emilio Fernandez) is summoned before her father and interrogated as to the identity of the unborn child’s father. The young woman is stripped down and eventually succumbs to torture, identifying the father as Alfredo Garcia, discovered later to be a well-known gigolo commonly found in Mexico City. Infuriated, El Jefe offers a $1 Million dollar reward for whoever “brings him the head of Alfredo Garcia”, the one and only line spoken in English in the sequence. 

Two of El Jefe’s henchmen, following months of searching, enter a seedy bar and meet Benny (Warren Oates), a retired United States Army Officer who now makes a meager living as the piano player and manager. Benny, despite having heard of the elusive Garcia, doesn’t reveal this knowledge to the suit-clad henchmen, later discovering from his prostitute girlfriend, Elita (Isela Vega), that Garcia had met his death in a drunk driving accident the previous week. He also discovers that Elita had cheated on Benny with Garcia, and decides to make a deal with the men – asking for $10,000 plus up-front expenses for the successful delivery of the head.

'Shame' Poster and Australian Release Date Announced

Shame, the Steve McQueen/Michael Fassbender/Carey Mulligan collaboration that caused plenty of controversy at the Venice Film Festival and wound up winning a Best Actor Award for Fassbender, has been secured a release date in Australia. February 9, 2012. Around that time Fassbender could be vying for an Oscar, too. The film, which I have read, includes copious amounts of sex and nudity (not a surprise considering the main character in a sex-addict) will likely be branded with the R18+ rating. Here is a new promotional poster - U.S citizens get to see it from December 2.

Monday Links (10/10)

This week has completely belonged to Midnight in Paris. I have now seen it twice, and I had a great time on both occasions. It's easily one of my favourite films of the year, though it still didn't crack my Top 5. That's how strongly I feel about them. I expect Midnight in Paris to do very well following it's October 20 release. I also checked out Vera Farmiga's debut feature, Higher Ground, which was very impressive and an under-appreciated film at Palace Norton Street over the weekend - Eye of the Storm is still almost selling out at times. This befuddles me.

Instead of starting my Godard marathon, I decided to continue with some Sam Peckinpah, watching The Getaway and Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, and enjoyed my lone day off by doing nothing other than re-watching Face/Off. I ended the week with a mixed bag. Thanks to Nick Jobe (linked later) I watched Troll 2, commonly credited as being 'a film so bad, it's good'. This is a description I would use for a film like The Room, which is an absolute riot. This is just BAD. A friend of mine insisted that Amadeus was one of the greatest films ever. Because my original attempt at watching the film ended at about the two hour mark (of three), I gave it another go. Yes, it is amazing!

On with the links...

Trailer: We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011)

I am eagerly anticipating the release of We Need to Talk About Kevin, which has been scheduled for a November 3 release in Australia. Since its premiere at Cannes, Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of the award-winning Lionel Shriver novel has received huge praise, with Tilda Swinton's performance the most recognised. Check out the creepy trailer below:

New Release Review: Midnight in Paris (Woody Allen, 2011)

Midnight in Paris is truly a delight. Woody Allen has built a film that is near impossible not to become immersed in and be enthralled by, even if your knowledge of literature, film and art history and the wonderful characters that define past eras of artistic creation is not up to speed; there is still plenty to admire and enjoy. Woody Allen has infused his highly intellectual screenplay (which is his most wildly imaginative in some time) with plenty of wit, has channeled the neurotic qualities of his persona through Owen Wilson, who delivers a stellar performance, and has created a real treat, and one of the most recommendable film experiences of the year.

Finding himself blown away by his magical discoveries on the streets of Paris, Gil Pender (Wilson) finds his life is changed forever amidst a perplexing realm of nostalgia – which is 75 year-old Woody Allen's way to honour the writers, artists and filmmakers he was inspired by and continues to admire, and capture a city he clearly loves. Midnight in Paris is a declaration of love for Paris, the romance it generates, both between humans and within the Arts, and as a source of inspiration and enlightenment.

New Release Review: Higher Ground (Vera Farmiga, 2011)

Vera Farmiga’s (Up in the Air) impressive directorial debut, Higher Ground is an American drama loosely based on Carolyn Biggs’ memoir, This Dark World: A Story of Faith Found and Lost. Briggs was also involved in the screenplay, which tells the story of Corrine Walker (played at different ages by McKenzie Turner, Vera’s sister Taissa, and Vera Farmiga herself), a small-town woman who starts to question and eventually abandons the religious dogma she has embraced for the entirety of her adult life, following several crises of faith.

Corinne convinces herself at a young age, following a particularly rousing sermon by her pastor (Bill Irwin) that God has touched her heart. Pregnant and married at age 18, Corrine, her musician husband Ethan (Joshua Leonard, The Blair Witch Project), and their infant daughter, are almost killed when their van plummets into a lake. Their faith is awakened and they turn to God. Years later, now with two children, she conforms to the local community of self-described “Jesus Freaks” and is born again.

Corinne's daily life consists of hours of Bible study, choir and alternative family practices. Though she and her husband are respected members of the congregation, Corinne always seems distant, unintentionally un-conformative to proper practices and growing continually frustrated when God’s presence isn’t made recognisable to her. The local folk are all kind-hearted, good people, whose narrow-minded view of life is often portrayed in a way that does border on satirical. Corrine's life becomes suffocating and she seeks a change of lifestyle when her closest friend becomes life-threateningly ill and her marriage begins to unravel.